Contemporary forces using shoulder-fired weapons utilize multiple projectile munitions, typically spherical pellets. The term for such weapons firing multiple projectiles is a xe2x80x9cshotgunxe2x80x9d and the cartridges xe2x80x9cshotgun shells.xe2x80x9d
The benefits of shotguns for military applications are the ability to hit rapidly moving personnel and vehicles at close ranges, ability to engage large numbers of closely spaced personnel and the ability to engage them in limited visibility scenarios (e.g. thick foliage). All commercially available shotgun shells use spherical projectiles because they are easy to manufacture and to load into the cartridges. However, there are two major problems with spherical pellets: 1. they scatter randomly after they leave the muzzle of the gun, thereby increasing the likelihood of causing casualties among non-combatants, and 2. they rapidly slow down in flight due to aerodynamic inefficiency.
The classic approach to extending the range of shotgun pellets is to use denser pellet material. Traditionally, shotgun pellets have been made of lead, which is one of the heavier elements yet easy to manipulate during manufacture. Using alloys containing tungsten, uranium, etc. has been considered but has not met wide-spread use due to cost, marginal performance improvement and material hardness which renders the material difficult to work with. One notable application where materials other than lead have been used in pellet construction is in non-toxic shots. Non-toxic shots are required in the United States for certain activities such as hunting waterfowl. Unfortunately, though, these non-toxic shot materials are high in cost. Commercial shells made of compounds of bismuth and tungsten are typically three to four times more expensive than corresponding lead shells. Currently available steel shells cost approximately 100% more than corresponding lead shells, while lagging far behind the lead shells in performance. The reason for the lackluster performance is that steel is only 71% as dense as lead, which means that a steel projectile of the same size as a lead projectile has less kinetic energy and corresponding less penetration than the lead projectile.
The instant invention is a steel projectile assuming the general shape of a teardrop. This elongated exterior geometry enables the steel projectile to compensate for the lower density of the material as compared to lead and achieve penetration into the target that is comparable to spherical lead pellets while suffering less scatter and aerodynamic drag (i.e. being more directional).